On 2006-01-23 23:48:39 -0800, "Melinda" > said:

> Part of the problem with Pilochun is that it is one of the famous teas
> of China, (like Lung Jing etc.) and thus is in high demand, thus the
> price gets driven up. There has been some rumor of people passing off
> a tea that is not pilochun as pilochun at various times, and there was
> a discussion on here ( I think?) about that a while back. $15 a pound
> is not expensive, really it's not, not for that tea . Heck, not for any
> tea... Er...Danny can you comment on grades of Pilochun and their
> relative prices that one might expect? S., do a search in this group
> for pilochun (or Bi lo Chun) and see what comes up. It seems there is
> more discussion of the greens in the spring since that's when they are
> coming available fresh.
> When you're unsure about whether you want to spend x amount of money on
> a tea, try to get a sample first (most tea sites will sell samples) and
> that will give you a better idea before you buy a lot. But do realize
> that every new tea you get (and even new batches of a type of tea
> you've had before) will more than likely be subtly different from each
> other. Whole leaf tea isn't as standardized in taste as a black blended
> tea (like Tetley's for instance) and can vary quite a bit. It's a great
> deal of the lure of tea for me...to try a new type and discover it's
> taste. Wonderful.
>
> Melinda

Fifteen dollars a pound wasn't really the problem, but that all the Bi
Luo Chun (or Pi Lo Chun) I've found from online vendors is around
between 30-60 dollars a pound. I'm not sure what the difference is.
I'm a newb to tea, so I can't really justify the expense for a tea I
can't taste the difference of. It seems most online vendors only claim
to sell super top grade tea.

Also, I fully agree about the differences in taste in green tea. I
think it's quite interesting to try them all. Albeit, I am ending up
purchasing more different kinds of tea faster than I can drink them!

-S.